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Should You Set Up A Fast Exit Strategy For Your Startup?
“So, how long do think it will be before we can exit?” The engineer said to me during his job interview. “Two years? three years?” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] As politely as I could, I said, “I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s going to…
Read MoreHow Do You Prevent Killer Mistakes As A First Time CEO?
“You don’t know what you don’t know,” I said to “Evan,” a young CEO I am working with. I was telling Evan that he needed a world-class VP Operations for his startup. Evan challenged me, and he said, “Why?” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Evan’s company was…
Read MoreHow Do You Position Your Product Versus The Competition?
I’ve been watching a lot of Steve Jobs product launches for a project I’m working on. Jobs communication skills are beyond good. They are also utterly simple to copy. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] In every single product launch, Jobs follows a predictable script. It’s the same…
Read MoreHow to Steal Netflix’s Company Culture in Six Easy Steps
“Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal” Pablo Picasso My company unabashedly stole our company culture from Netflix with a little bit of Zappos and Sandy Koufax thrown in. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. There. I’ve said it. We were thieves and robbers, but I’d like to think…
Read MoreWhat Is Your Startup CEO Superpower?
Maybe the best piece of art I’ve ever seen is the musical, Hamilton. Thanks to Blossom’s insistence, I was fortunate enough to see the original cast in New York, and then see the touring cast in San Francisco. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Not surprisingly, the original…
Read MoreWhat Are The Keys To Successful Minimum Viable Products?
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about Minimum Viable Products (MVPs). There’s a belief that it’s the right way to go if you develop an MVP because people are naturally going to buy your product. I want to debunk this idea right now. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help.…
Read MoreWhat Are The Challenges Of Having More Than 2 Cofounders?
I think people that have never started a company have this perception that being a founder gives you some hidden decision making rights. “Ah, you’re a founder, you must be involved in every key decision? Right?” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Wrong! Being a founder does not…
Read MoreWhat Are The Six Rules For Building Loyal Teams
“It was my fault. I screwed up,” I told Maxim Integrated Products CEO, Jack Gifford. “You should be screaming at me, not him!” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I didn’t want Steve (my boss) to take the beating for my screw-up. I wanted Gifford to tear into…
Read MoreWhy Is Paranoia Part Of A Successful CEO’s Mindset?
“You’re the most paranoid person at Maxim!” Jack Gifford, Maxim Integrated Products CEO, told me one day. Then he paused for what seemed like an eternity. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Gifford looked at me and said, “And that’s good!” Gifford built Maxim from $0 to $1…
Read MoreWhat Are The Warning Signs Of A Bad Co-Founder?
Do you think it’s a good idea to propose marriage after your second date? Good, I didn’t think so. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. The best analogy for deciding on cofounders is dating. In fact, a cofounder relationship is more intense than a marriage: You’re working in…
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